South Asia and Far East WannabesA forum for those applying to Cathay Pacific, Dragonair or any other Hong Kong-based airline or operator. Use this area for both Direct Entry Pilot and Cadet-scheme queries.

best way after finishing CPL is to enroll for Flight Instructor course. Then fly as safety pilot with or without pay until you get the required hours for an FI license, or be a co-pilot on multi-engine doing fish runs.

Only half of 1% of pilots (thats 0.5 of 0.001) who start abnitio training make it to the airlines.

To coin a phrase: it takes 10% of absolute dedication and 90% dumb arse luck.

As to the best flying school??? they're all shysters but the one that gives you the best training and lead in to your "entry level" commercial job is the one - so, my son, thats all your call.

After your training get your FAA CPL and, if you have the bs, buy a open rtn ticket to africa and get some "real life" flying under your belt - you'll shte over your class mates who chose to stay at home - on daddy's money.

No such thing, sorry to disappoint ... does not exist yet. Look up Aviation Training One International down south in Dumaguete City, formerly known as Philippine Pilot Training Center. Nice place to conduct your training.

OMNI- (atleast know of one who made it to CebuPac...loooong time back though!...umm also know of one of made it to Seair not so long ago!) Hey but nobody with a mint fresh CPL gets into the big league here! you have to gain atleast 1000 to 1500 hrs in gen av! CIA - Well atleast 2 dozen of them are with Cebu Pac! But then they were cebupac sponsored scholars .

There maybe 17000 pilots needed. (Damn you s***** media) but no one is goin to take inexperienced pilots!

Strictly speaking, a safety pilot is the fellow who keeps an eye out for traffic while the another pilot is practicing instrument flight under a hood in visual conditions. Only the pilot who is flying the airplane may log the flight time.

At an aero club where I worked decades ago, a safety pilot was a pilot member who accompanied another pilot member to an unfamiliar destination. The safety pilot was just along for the ride. He could not log the flight time.

These days, a "safety pilot" is someone that may or may not have an instructor's license who accompanies student pilots on "solo" flights. This is strictly illegal. Solo flight requires the student to be the sole occupant of the aircraft. The great majority of pilot schools in the Philippines do not allow student pilots to fly solo cross-country without a "safety pilot."

As far as I know, the only civilian pilot schools that allow student pilots to fly real solo cross-country flights are PAL, Omni, and Clark Aviation.

Most schools allow their students to fly solo only in the traffic pattern. They have somehow convinced their students that it is legal to have a "safety pilot" come along on their "solo cross-country flights." The practice so widespread that it is considered "normal."

Luck? I agree, most if not all that surrounds this job is luck. But, if one happens to struck you, You have to really really perform and do your best " its Showtime !!!!" otherwise, that luck of yours goes down the drain.

For low timers, flying as Safety pilots or to begin as F.I. is always a good idea. Or, if you can find a place vacated by some guys who went to the airlines, like charter companies... of course in the beginning muchacho muna kayo, as it has always been in Phil GEN AV. You clean the Capts car, buy them cigarettes, join them on beer busting or order pizza for a merienda, pakikisama "daw" thats what they call it. Or, join the military and get hours on their S211s, hueys, C130, nomads etc. Or, you can try your luck abroad. They always need some kind of mercenary pilots around Africa. If you are only eyeing PAL, CEBUPAC or the like, without the Hours under your belt or a PADRINO under your belt too. Then PAL or Cebupac is a far outcry. Mauubos ang tuhod ninyo, they will not get you in.

I think there are many definitons for a safety pilot. One, he or she could already be an ATPL or CPL with IR with FI license and been checked out to fly on the right seat. A safety pilot is a qualified and rated guy for the type of equipment.

A safety pilot is the one who takes over if Student paks-up on what he is doing. A safety pilot is somebody who takes control if the Student is no longer qualified to shoot an specific approach.

My point is, even Airlines assign Pilots as Safety pilots.

There is really no Illegal here or being unsafe, because in the very beginning of the word it says " safety" pilot.

The MPL is obviously the quickest way to become a professional jet jockey.

Ab initio training at an airline's own pilot school is the next quickest way. But I don't know of any airline that guarantees employment even if you ace their training course. They will all guarantee you an interview and usually give you some sort of preference over other pilots with equal experience but not always.

The present hiring situation is bleak but that is no reason not to start or continue training. Airline hiring has always followed a high/low pattern with the peaks about 8 years apart. If you get any sort of flying work during the lull, you will have an advantage over those who didn't.

"A safety pilot is the one who takes over if Student paks-up on what he is doing.

"A safety pilot is somebody who takes control if the Student is no longer qualified to shoot an specific approach."

I say:

If the "safety pilot" is a rated instructor flying with a student, then he is a "flight instructor" and not a "safety pilot." In this case, the flight would have to be logged as dual instruction by the student.

Jetcruiser says:

"My point is, even Airlines assign Pilots as Safety pilots."

I say:

What airlines are those? I have been flying for a major airline since 1991. I have never ever seen or even heard of a "safety pilot" in the airline.

Jetcruiser says:

"There is really no Illegal here or being unsafe, because in the very beginning of the word it says " safety" pilot.

"So, how can a safety pilot be an unsafety pilot?"

I say:

You can call that person anything you like. You can call him the "Prince of Wales" if you like. But in the end, those so-called "safety pilots" utilized by the great majority of pilot schools in the Philippines have no business flying with student pilots who are logging solo time. Read your CAR's.

If a student flies with a "safety pilot" and logs the flight as solo, he would have been carrying a passenger, which is illegal. The penalty is revocation of the student's license.

From Part 1 of the new CAR's:

"Solo flight time. Flight time during which a student pilot is the sole occupant of an aircraft."

Which of those words don't you understand?

Did you fly with "safety pilots" during your "solo" flights as a student?

Did you fly as a "safety pilot" with student pilots on their "solo" flights?

Do you know people who have done this or who are still doing it?

The real reason why schools send students up with "safety pilots" is that they literally cannot trust the students farther than they can see them for one reason or another.